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There is corruption at GRA

Dec 24, 2009 Editorial

The Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority actually threatened legal action when Kaieteur News reported that his agency had some corrupt officers. Arriving at the conclusion of corrupt GRA officers was not difficult especially when one looked back at the manner in which some of these people became the nuveau riche after a few short years with the entity.
It did not fail to escape notice that a 21-year-old Customs officer had a few million dollars in a bank account; another had built a dream house after working five yeas with the Customs and Excise department; many had cars and minibuses galore and still others became money lenders.
Indeed there was a sweep and many of these persons were weeded out but as the saying goes, there is no drug that is one hundred per cent effective against anything. The most potent medicine simply invokes the power of the body’s defence mechanism; Lysol kills ninety-nine per cent of all household drugs. The sweep by the Guyana revenue Authority, like Lysol, was bound to leave some of the tainted elements behind.
It came as no surprise when the government decided to subject many of the officers to a polygraph and it was equally not surprising that many failed it. It is the remainder that has caused raised eyebrows.
When the Commissioner General said that there were about 500 unlicenced vehicles in the country this could only have continued to the extent that even the police failed to detect the irregularity. Officers within the GRA would have allowed forgeries to be perpetrated on the society.
Many of the vehicles were allowed to operate with forged certificates of registration and genuine road service licences as well as Motor Vehicle Licences. The system that allows for motor vehicle licences to be issued necessitates also the production of vehicle registrations which are checked.
However, there is evidence that licences were issued so the officer or officers who processed the applications simply accepted the validity of the documents.
We know that many false driver’s licences were issued through this same department so it boggles the mind that the Commissioner General could proudly proclaim that there is no corruption within his department.
Indeed corruption is endemic in the society. There are people who make a living simply by sitting outside the offices of the Registrar General at the Guyana Post Office Corporation.
They promise applicants of birth certificates and other documents that for a fee they could procure the documents, and they do. They must be operating in collusion with people inside the offices.
In every department that must interface with the public there is corruption so there is no reason for the Guyana Revenue Authority which funds nearly eighty per cent of the national budget to be any exemption.
What makes the corruption at the GRA more dangerous is the fact that cars are stolen regularly. Cars cost a lot of money and for many people they are not easily replaceable. The ability of people to access false certificates of registration for stolen cars is therefore a problem. What is more, the false documents could remain in the system for a long time. Admittedly, efforts have been made to stamp out corruption over time and there have been successes. We have noticed that in one case a number of people have been placed before the courts. We await the outcome although in years past many of those prosecuted walked because the GRA failed to provide the evidence.
When people get away with their corrupt acts others are likely to take note and try the same thing. We are sure that this situation is what allows for its continuation and the denial by the Commissioner General.

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